Guilmette brings home fourth national title from U.S. Women’s Nationals
Ava Guilmette, center, won a national title at the USA Wrestling’s Women’s Nationals in Spokane, Washington. (Photo courtesy USA Wrestling Connecticut).
Bristol’s Ava Guilmette, a sixth-grade student at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pennsylvania, added to her trophy collection from USA Wrestling’s Women’s National Championship meet this weekend in Spokane, Washington.
Guilmette won her fourth national championship in five years with a victory in the U14 division (14 and under) at 119 pounds. She went 4-0 in the tournament with four pins and didn’t give up a single point.
She adds this national championship to a U12 title she won a year ago at 110 pounds, a U12 title she won at 95 pounds in 2021 and a U9 championship she won in 2019. There was no meet in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guilmette was one of five Connecticut athletes to medal in the tournament.
Southbury’s Sarah Henckel finished second at 69 kilograms (152 pounds) in the U17 division with Stratford’s Kayla Batres taking second in the U15 tournament at 50 kilograms (110 pounds) and third at 49 kilos (108 pounds) in the U17 tournament.
Stratford’s Selena Batres was seventh at 92 pounds in the U14 division. Sacred Heart University freshman Cara Broadus of Plymouth finished fourth in the U23 division at 72 kilos (158 pounds).
Guilmette also medaled at 58 kilos (127 pounds) in the U15 tournament. She went 5-2 to finish fourth, winning three of four bouts in the consolation round after a 10-6 loss to Wisconsin’s Riley Hanrahan in the quarterfinals.
Henckel, a freshman at Wyoming Seminary, advanced to the U-17 finals with three wins that included a pair of technical falls. Henckel bet Jahzara O’Neil of Arizona in the semifinals, 11-0 and topped Zoe Fries of Idaho in the quarterfinals, 6-0.
In the finals, Henckel faced returning champion Jasmine Robinson of Texas in a best-of-3 series to determine the title and who would qualify to represent the U.S. at the upcoming U17 world championships in Istanbul, Turkey on July 31 through August 6.
Robinson, who was ranked No. 2 in the latest girls high school rankings, swept a pair of matches from No. 10 Henckel with a 10-0 win by technical fall in the first match and a pin in the second bout in 2:32.
Kayla Batres won her first three matches in the U17 tournament at 49 kg with a pair of technical falls and a 7-5 win over Pennslyvania’s Emma Bacon. Trailing 4-2, Batres scored five points with 52 seconds left in the bout to take the lead for good.
Kayla Batres dropped an 11-3 decision to Illinois’ Harless Hiller in the semifinals but won two bouts by technical fall in the consolation bracket to finish third. Kayla Batres had shutout victories in four of her five wins in the tournament.
In the U15 tournament, Kayla Batres finished second at 50 kg. She had three straight wins including a 12-1 win over Keanna Conard of Indiana to earn spot in the final. But Batres dropped a 12-2 decision to Bacon in the title bout. Bacon won her second straight U15 title and was named the outstanding wrestler of the U15 tournament.
Selena Batres went 2-2 to finish seventh at 92 pounds in the U-14 tournament.
Broadus went 2-2 to finish fourth at 72 kg in the U23 tournament. She pinned New Jersey’s Noelle Gaffney in the quarterfinals in 5:38 before getting hurt in a semifinal loss to Texas’ Kaylynn Albrecht and losing by injury default.
Broadus rebounded with a 10-0 win by technical fall over Wisconsin’s Katelyn Lewis in the consolation semifinal but bowed out in the consolation final in a loss to Gaffney, again by injury default.